A Supreme Court lawyer has filed a writ petition seeking High Court directives to the government and Sheikh Hasina to bar her from quitting as prime minister under ‘any undue pressure from any one’.
The writ petition was filed when the opposition political parties were continuing simultaneous movement to press home their demand for resignation of the government of Sheikh Hasina, dissolving the parliament and holding a free, fair and inclusive general election under a neutral government.
The next general election in Bangladesh is expected to be held in January 2024.
A bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Khizir Hayat on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the writ petition until November after holding a brief hearing on the writ petition filed by the lawyer, Md Mozammel Haque.
The bench adjourned the hearing after deputy attorney general Saiefuddin Khalid argued that the writ petition should be rejected summarily or fixed it for hearing after reopening the court after puja vacation.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the cabinet secretary, the secretary of the office of the prime minister and the law secretary were made as respondents to the writ petition.
Mozammel Haque argued that there would be a clear violation of the Article 57 of the constitution if prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned as PM for ‘national and international’ pressure.
Article 57(3) of the constitution says, ‘Nothing in this article shall disqualify Prime Minister for holding office until his successor has entered upon office.’
‘Not he but also the country men, including Awami League League leaders, feared that she, being a 77-year old woman, might give up under continuous pressure from in and outside the country,’ Mozzammel told reporters. ‘The country will suffer loss and development works will be halted if she resigns,’ he added.
New Age
